(Stephen) Grover Cleveland

Born March 18, 1837 in Caldwell, New Jersey
Died June 24, 1908 in Princeton, New Jersey
Polititical Party: Democratic Party
First Term: 1885-1889
Second Term: 1893-1897
Vice President First Term: Thomas Andrews Hendricks
Vice President Second Term: Adlai Ewing Stevenson
Theme: Demographics
Grade:

THESIS
Grover Cleveland was both our 22nd and 24th president, with Benjamin Harrison in between his terms. During his first term, things in America seemed to be going smooth. But later during Cleveland's second term, things got a little hectic with major events such as the Panic of 1893. This single event affected many aspects of our country. Due to this troubled time in our history, Grover Cleveland deserves a C. This is mainly because during the panic, Cleveland didn't do much to try and aid it, only the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. If there wasn't all this panic in our country, a higher grade would suit Grover Cleveland.
THEME
Throughout Grover Cleveland's two terms as president, there were a few things that affected some of the demographics of our nation. When it came to annexing the Hawaiian Islands, Cleveland was totally against it. He had no problem trading with them and having ports in Pearl harbor, but the actuall act of annexation was out of the picture. Had we annexxed Hawaii and brought it into our country, there could have been a decent amount of people added to our population. Not only would numbers had been added to our demographics but another group of people, the Hawaiians. The demographics of our country could have changed a little bit but in the end, Cleveland decided to let Hawaii do there own thing.
The Dawes Severalty Act also affected some of our demographics. It ended up granting citizenship and titles to land to Indians who renounced their tribal allegiance. By giving out citizenships, it added to our population.
GOALS
In Grover Cleveland's first inaugural address, it seemed like one of his overall goals was to appeal to all kinds of americans from farmers to businessmen. Cleveland was able to achieve this threw a few bills and acts. The various pension and private release bills were vetoed by Cleveland in the thought that only those who haved served our country are worthy. In Cleveland's eyes, this was a fair deal. Personally, it makes sense to give some extra benefits to those that deserve it. Another way Grover Cleveland met his first goal was the Hatch Act of 1887. This helped out the agriculture life by providing certain federal funds.
In Grover Cleveland's second inaugural address, he mentioned that one of the most benefitial things for America was a stable currency. Gold and silver at this time were key aspects to money and currency. To meet this goal, a big move was to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. By doing this, Cleveland thought that the gold standard had to be controlled to keep the stable currency. After all of this, there were some business deals with wealthy men, such as J.P. Morgan, to give discounted gold bonds. In the end, all this really did was further alienat Cleveland from the Populist party.
RELATIONSHIP WITH CONGRESS
Grover Cleveland's relationship with congress was a rather good one. Majority of the congress was democratic so that played a big role in it. Throughout the president's terms, some great laws were passed. One of them was the Interstate Commerce Act created the Interstae Commerce Commission. With this, railroad rates became favorable and just. Grover Cleveland also vetoed some things too such as the pension and private relief bills. Overall, there were no issues between Congress and Cleveland.
PRESIDENT AND ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The most positive thing to come from Grover Cleveland and his administration was the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Through this action, it helped to stablize the Nation's currency. Before this, the values of gold and silver were changing here and there. After this repeal, we were able to move foward to having a stable currency. This definitely is important because without it, money and it's value could vary depending on where you are at in the country.
The most negative thing to happen due to Grover Cleveland and his administration was the Panic of 1893. Things like banks collapsing and railroad troubles led to much commotion in our country. Riots in Chicago,Coxey's army, and the Pullman strike all happened as a result of the panic, not to mention all the businesses to go bankrupt. So much chaos happening in a short time has to be the worst thing from Cleveland and his administration.
FUTURE IMPACTS
The big thing that affected the future that came from Grover Cleveland's presidency was by far the step forward to a stable currency through the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase. A stable currency is one of the most important things a country needs to run smoothly. And through this decision, future generations were able to go through life with a stable currency. Life was therefore made easier by providing this.
CONCLUSION
After looking at the two terms that Grover Cleveland served, there is no denying that some good and bad things happened. But in the end, our country benefitted more than it was hurt. The C ranking is fair though. It's not too low, and not too high. Grover Cleveland was able to maintain two presidential terms under control, which is the important thing.



Bibliography

DeGregorio, William A. "Grover Cleveland" The Complete Book of US Presidents: From George Washington to Bill Clinton. New York: Wing, 1997. 318-329, 344-352. Print.

Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. The American Pageant. 12th ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.